Black Dragon
by Kurohi Tatsaki
Summary: My OC has taken a spot in the WA3 universe during the game, & he's with the enemy (Janus)? But why can't he kill the heroes? &, especially, Jet? Yaoi! OC/Jet! 1 of my earlier works so don't hurt me!
1. You Remind Me

Chapter One: You Remind Me  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! (I just finished the Glimmering Emblem as of 1/5/03. School's tomorrow and most likely I'll hate the first week or so.) I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that! Jet's so kawaii!  
  
Jet: I am not kawaii! I deserve a better compliment, ya hear me?!  
  
KT: Well... I AM using a character that stars offa some of my persona. And you're gonna like him! His basic idea came from while I was on a Yu-Gi-Oh! craze!  
  
Jet: Oh, no, not Yu-Gi-Oh!! *faints*  
  
Jet/OC, follows the story-line, so there're spoilers, Yaoi! Don't like it? Go away! Like it? Read on! I'm also getting good at lemons and some limes, but there aren't any in this chapter!  
  
"speaking", (thinking), ~(present thoughts in a flashback)~  
  
*************************************  
  
The chamber bustled with activity. Gunshots blasted throughout the arena-like room. Suddenly, it ended. A few words were exchanged, and a group of four entered the next two chambers. The only female of the group, who had long brown hair and green eyes glared prettily at a blue-haired man and his cronies. The other three, males, were nearly unaffected, except for one white-haired, purple-eyed boy just as tall as the western-dressed teen girl.  
  
"You may have beaten us last time, but it won't happen again! WE Drifters will be the ones to beat you to all the shields AND the Eternal Sparkle!" declared the over-confident blue-haired man.  
  
"I doubt that!" reprisaled the girl. "We DID beat you last time!"  
  
"Yes, but it was four on three. Now, we have another member of our group to replace Lucio! Get out here, you!" He looked around, then up onto a pillar. The pillar stood boldly next to a flame on a cross, which was next to yet another towering giant. A dark-colored boy sat quietly on the one closest to the threesome, but even closer to the group of four. "Hey! What are you doin' up there?! Git down!"  
  
The boy blinked, then flitted down, landing with a quiet tap on his inch-heel, rounded, brown leather boots. His dark blue eyes regarded his leader coldly. "As you request." He stood just in front of the varied group of four.  
  
One green-haired male wearing a black and orange trench-coat and rounded glasses said, "A new member or old? I thought you said another one of your group had fallen in battle... Lucio, was it?"  
  
Janus, the blue-haired one, cackled loudly, then smirked evilly. "He did. But this one, here..." He gestured the five-feet, two-inches tall boy wildly. "...this one's a genius! If it weren't for his lack of self- confidence and risk-taking, I'd be dead right now! I swear...! He's like you, Princess! He'll point a gun, but he won't pull the trigger!! It's pathetic!"  
  
"Don't rub it in," said the boy, moving toward his group until he was looking nearly eye-to-eye with them. His voice was just as deep as a cat's purr, and his dim eyes half-lidded, as if only semi-conscious to the world. "You only won because you blackmailed me." He raised his lips into a sneer, about to continue, but Janus interrupted him.  
  
"And I'm gonna keep ya here, brat, until you fulfill what I asked for!"  
  
"Call me by name, or I will not obey your commands like the sick puppy you try to mold me into."  
  
(Obey...?) thought the girl. She glanced at her group.  
  
"Fine, then, *Kurohi*... If that's yer real name."  
  
The spiky-haired boy growled. "It. Is. My. Name." (I have been called that a long time... But I don't know if that's even true.)  
  
"Either way, you WOULD obey. Even if it HAS been a few days since I brought you in."  
  
The boy blinked his dim blue eyes and ran a hand through a few brown spikes of hair. One end of it was calm spikes, the other had an area that had flaming spikes, ending in a tip. [A/N: If you've seen Yu*Yu*Hakusho, it's similar to Hiei's hairstyle with a little bit of Kurama's wavy locks off to one side, but this character here was made up from Yu-Gi-Oh! while I was on a full-fledged Yami craze. He's just SO~ SEXY~! ^______^] "So. *boss*. what are we gonna do about them?" He aimed his sights at the group of four.  
  
"Get rid of them. What else?"  
  
(Kill them? I think not...) From behind his back, Kurohi yanked a semi- machine gun-like ARM out of a holster and aimed it at the leader, despite his mind's protests. "Allow me the honor, then. You guys go ahead and take the shield. I'll catch up later," he said coolly. (And then I'll...)  
  
"No, you won't. We're fighting too! We can't have you run off afterwards!"  
  
"Suit. Yourself," clipped the boy. (Damn. I'll have to try a different approach... I don't wanna kill anymore... but I gotta make this look real if I want to......-)  
  
Virginia, the only girl, Gallows, one of the other boys, from Baskar, Jet, and Clive drew their Rapier Ex and Bantorain 93R, Modified Coyote M17F, Airget-lamb B/V2 and Gungnir HAG35, respectively. Virginia's guns were short, typical revolver or pistol type guns while the other ones appeared like machine or shotguns.  
  
-...He had no time to finish his thought. Aiming quickly, he unleashed a flurry of bullets toward the white-haired one, Jet. He dodged to one side and retaliated with his own gun, eyes colder than ice and four times the shade. Kurohi mentally shivered in spite of that crystalline gaze, but held a physical one at bay with some difficulty. He doubled his onslaught, seeming to startle the other boy, who yelped when a bullet hit his skin roughly.  
  
The other boy halted his attack suddenly. (Shit! I hit him!) Images and memories flooding his brain at an overwhelming rate, causing a fierce throbbing sensation to form in his skull. He nearly dropped his gun. (...No more! I don't want to......) Kurohi now saw something that had happened long ago, something dead as history could ever be, again through this lad who stood up before him, towering over him by a mere two inches. The only thing that overrode their height was Kurohi's held-high brown and silver hair. The silver locks, in the form of a half-star, moved slightly against the artificial breeze of combat around him. He stared down - or rather, up - his opponent. He felt as if he could not come to harm, let alone kill, the silver-haired boy.  
  
His heart clenched in place rather painfully, and he nearly gasped aloud because of it.  
  
But if he didn't... Janus would...  
  
(NO! Don't make me see it again!)  
  
***Flashback***  
  
A blue-haired man staggers slowly up, blood dripping from various wounds. He glares at his attacker, then aims his Bayonet type ARM at a figure off- screen. The camera zooms in on Janus's target, which is a small girl. She is wearing a pink dress and white, high-heel boots with silver spurs. Her red eyes widen at the sight of an ARM pointed at her.  
  
"Stop! Please don't hurt my sister!"  
  
~(I can't bear this... don't make me see it again...)~  
  
The camera pans over to the speaker, Kurohi. He blinks his blue eyes, one lithe arm outstretched feebly toward his sibling and slowly approaches with the steady, fluid movements of a feline. "Leave her alone, Janus."  
  
"And if I don't? What if I shot her just now?" he taunts. The boy's eyes sizzle enough to seem as if lasers will come out of them.  
  
~(...I wanted to protect her... I tried so hard...)~  
  
"If you kill her, I will kill you," he murmurs. He then says firmly, "Don't force me to kill you... Don't force me to kill again! I'm a protector, not a killer!!"  
  
"O-Oniisan.!" Kurohi's sister, a frail, green-eyed girl stutters in confusion. "I... I thought you..." Kurohi stares at his silver-haired, younger sister, then back at Janus, his long eyelashes not given the chance to hood his playful, but deadly blue eyes. He approaches almost suddenly, putting one foot firmly in front of himself, and Janus's finger slips on the trigger rather purposefully. A gunshot sounds out, echoing loudly, and Kurohi's sister falls to one side. A crimson pool of blood flows beneath her, staining her perfect shade of pink dress a horrible, disgusting rose color.  
  
~(NOOO! Someone! Wake me up! I don't want to see this anymore! Wait, I *am* awake...! But why do I see this again?! Is it because of...)~  
  
The brown and silver-haired boy's aquamarine blue eyes darken to a deep ocean sapphire, and widen. He couldn't hear anything! Why couldn't he hear her?! "......! S... Seishin...?" He strains his hearing even further in hopes to hear a sliver of life. He hears nothing save his own heart pounding loudly in his chest and ears, and the sounds of two people breathing: himself, deep breaths, and Janus, harsh pants, due to gunshot wounds.  
  
He couldn't hear his sister's steady, strong heartbeat. No life...  
  
She was...  
  
...NOOOO!  
  
"SEI...SEI--SHI-----N--!!!"  
  
"Whoops..." he said carelessly, as if this were a game. "...finger slipped."  
  
The last thread of Kurohi's well-being snapped. "WHY YOU LITTLE......!! GIVE ME BACK MY SISTER YOU ASSHOLE!"  
  
~(...Dear mind... why do you torture me so...? To remind me? Of what?)~  
  
He stares at his opponent carelessly. "Life don't work that way, ya know."  
  
Widened blue eyes don't relax. The owner of the eyes' breaths hitch into restrained gasps. Tears well up in those eyes, then disappear as if they never were there.  
  
(I know that,) he thinks. (But I can't face it... someone... make it go away...! Please! Dear god, Seishin...)  
  
He screams, a high alto noise, before a deep shadow takes his place. The being sees that Janus has aimed the gun at his mother and other brother, and retreats into the recesses of its host's mind after the blue-haired male says, "Do as I ask, and I won't kill them."  
  
"...As you request," he murmurs after he has reverted to his normal self, though he is slightly uneasy because now his clothing is in shreds, hanging limply from his limbs. He glares at Janus. "If you come to harm them, I will see to your death myself. I shall rip that heart of yours from your chest and feed it to the monsters after I crush it with my bare hands!"  
  
Janus smirks. "It's a done deal, brat."  
  
"......"  
  
~(...my fault... I couldn't save her, and, instead, my family was thrown into the fray... I wish I could have done things differently... but... the past is the past... But... but why does it follow me?!)~  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
Kurohi physically shook his head free of the image of his sister. Seishin... Strange, how this boy reminded him of her. What was his name?  
  
"It is not proper unless I know your name," murmured the boy. (Actually, despite the consequences, I want to know you... I can't *not* know you. Please tell me your name...!)  
  
Deep inside his subconscious, he called to the boy.  
  
The silver-haired one cocked an eyebrow. "What do you care for my name? I'm only a single face out of many."  
  
"...I do not feel right fighting someone I do not know. Especially someone who reminds me of my sister..." (Sister... Only by hair color do you, boy, remind me of her... But... for some reason even I cannot come to grips with, I cannot kill you. You are too...)  
  
"WHAT?! I am no girl!" (Who does he think he is?! Calling me a girl! Can't he see I'm quite male?!)  
  
Deep inside, he felt sorry for unintentionally insulting him.  
  
Kurohi regarded the amethyst-eyed boy coolly. "Did I say that? Only your hair color reminds me, anyway." He hesitated. "I do not want to kill you." (I can't... Why can't I? ... I don't want to, that's why...! I'm a protector... not a killer... not a murderer......)  
  
"Hmph. That I doubt." (Don't believe him. Easier to be suspicious.)  
  
"You still haven't answered my question." (I need to know. Please tell me...!) He was feeling desperate, like a drowning man clutching to a chunk of debris.  
  
"Hmph. It's Jet." (A one-syllable word can't harm anything.)  
  
"Jet, huh?" he asked. "Anyway, please believe me... What have I done of my free will to harm you?" (A part of me is uncontrollable... it thirsts for blood and carnage... It resides in my very soul. It scares me... Even more so, there's no one around to make sure my sanity remains intact... I need... I want......) "You shot me in the arm."  
  
He blinked, his eyes taking on an apologetic glow. He bows his head slightly, brown spikes rushing forward." ......" (.Forgive me..)  
  
"Aren't you gonna say somethin' sappy or cliché like, 'I'm sorry'?"  
  
Blinking once, he murmured, "Why say something like that when I will not be believed by anyone?" (No one believes me... But I know I should apologize. ...But he won't believe me...)  
  
"You have a point."  
  
"...But if I don't fight you..." he murmurs, raising his head. (...Mother! Brother! I can't kill him! I can't kill his group! I. Can't. Kill. Them! But I can't kill you all either! Help me... someone? Anyone!)  
  
"BRAT! You'd better be fighting before I kill You-Know-Whos!"  
  
"...Damn!" he cursed, looking at his boss. He stared at Jet, muttering coldly, ".........One or the other... the other or one... face horrible moral pains either way... one over two... two over one... It makes a difference... what do I choose......? Why should I choose...? Choose one, I lose the other; choose the other, and I lose the first... Decisions, decisions..."  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
(Heh...)  
  
...  
  
...  
  
(Hehe... Heheh... Hahaha! It's so stupid it just might work!!)  
  
...  
  
Inside Kurohi's subconscious, he wondered what the hell he was doing. He wondered why he would choose one person over his only links to his ever- fading past. Why sacrifice who you were to someone you just met, and why feel so deeply connected to this boy, Jet, upon first sight?  
  
Why?  
  
(......I can kill *HIM*!) He turned to his leader, and cocked his gun. "EAT LEAD, BASTARD!!" Kurohi opened fire.  
  
Janus rolled to the floor, glaring at his unwilling partner-in-crime. "BASTARD!" he mirrored. "I thought we were a-ahhh!"  
  
A bullet pierced his shoulder, then his chest, then grazed the side of his face, then broke into the wall behind him.  
  
Blinking slowly, the unwilling villain slumped to the floor tiredly. (Oh... Oh, no... I blew it...) He shook his head. "...Now... they'll die because of me... Kurohi no baka [1] ... It's my fault..." He banged his fist so hard on the ground his popped a few knuckles painfully. He refused to wince.  
  
"What're you blabbering about now?" clipped Jet irritably.  
  
"...They're gonna die..."  
  
...  
  
"My mother... my brother..." he elaborated. "Since I broke the unwilling truce, Janus will kill my only family... my only memories... and... my memory as it is, I can't store things for too long..." (If I can't remember who I am... I'll be a wandering shell...! ...I'm all ready starting to forget...What was the name of the town I was banished from again...?)  
  
"Hey! You there!" piped the cheerful girl. She dashed toward the shortest boy and looked down at his face. "Hi! Why were you with that jerk, Janus?"  
  
"...A choice in which I had no say. Now that the treaty between myself and him is destroyed, he shall slaughter my family." (They shall pay the price... but not me. He won't harm me, because the ones he'll harm are the ones who mean most to me... Had I killed Jet and his group, I'd have saved my family......) His stomach dropped when he thought, (but lost a piece of... myself......? What...? ...but since I attacked Janus......)  
  
Silence.  
  
"...And I broke the treaty when I attacked Janus. I was supposed to kill all four of you." His ears picked up a soft sound, though he wasn't sure if anyone heard it. He kept quiet. "Anyway, I was told you four were moving around in a group. This is so?"  
  
She nodded, her braid swishing slightly to one side. Her bright green eyes were illuminated with cheeriness. "Yeah. I'm Virginia. I am sure you've met Jet, there. And, behind me," she gestured with one white glove toward two other men. One with green hair and green eyes veiled slightly by thin-framed glasses. He wore black leather pants and yellow boots. His cloak settled against his back, trailing mere inches from the floor. The other man had brown hair with one white spike that fell limply off to one side of his face. He was a Baskarian. Though he wore no feathers, he wore tan-colored skins of various sorts. His boots were black with silver spurs. "These two are Gallows."  
  
The Baskarian man waved.  
  
".and Clive."  
  
"How do you do," he greeted.  
  
Kurohi cocked a dark, regal eyebrow at the gentleman. He could never get used to those kinds of people. They gave him the creeps.  
  
Deep inside, he was flattered.  
  
He heard the noise again, and looked up swiftly. "...Shit!"  
  
He wasn't the only one to see. Jet moved, fast as lightening, and scooped the girl out of the way,-  
  
Seeing the simple, heroic way he held her made Kurohi's heart clench up in a strange way.  
  
...This was jealousy?  
  
-and flitted back just as a boulder came crashing down, missing the duo by inches. He landed on one side,-  
  
...Though knowing well enough Jet and Virginia would be all right, he felt a certain uncertainty. Were they okay?  
  
-and Virginia, ever so angry, got up again, having been dropped from the hold by accident, and moved toward a blonde-haired girl.  
  
The girl slapped her!  
  
Reeling from the slap, the girl said, "You nearly put one of your comrades in danger! Wannabe Drifter, go back where you belong!"  
  
The green-eyed girl said nothing.  
  
"Anyway, here's the shield. You'll find answers in Ka Dingel." She handed "leader" the red shield. Her teammates protested. Why should they give the shield to the enemy? Their leader, Blonde, answered them. Actually, he later learned her name was Maya.  
  
Kurohi walked over to Jet and offered a hand to help him up with blank eyes caused by brooding. "...I see I'm not the only perceptive one." The corner of his mouth twitched in a would-be sad smile. "...but I tend to think too much before I act." (You, certainly, are the better one.)  
  
The silver-haired boy rose on his own. "I don't need help from anyone," he clipped, glaring at the shorter boy. "And that also refers to you!" (Why can't he just go away? The brat...)  
  
Kurohi laughed as Jet moved back toward his group. It was a bitter sound, due to his unwanted feeling of being shot down. "That's what *I* used to think. And look where it got me." (Yeah... and I can't go back to where I came from...) He looked around the ruins. "...A sorry place of ruin where I only have a few days until my family's massacred by a blue-haired bastard......" He promptly stomped over to a pillar and leaned against it, muttering sarcastically, "Whoop-dee-doo... I'm soooo lucky..." (...Lucky to be the cause of my family's death...)  
  
The girl and her group had left. Virginia walked over to the musing, sulking Kurohi. "Don't give up hope yet! Where do they live?"  
  
"..." (I can't say... I only know things by sight... Not name... My memories are all getting blurry... I might forget my parents, brother and... sister... at this rate!)  
  
"Em, Kurohi?"  
  
"......Yeah?" He blinked, blue eyes losing their glazed over look to reveal something more clear, then it was gone. Virginia barely noticed this, but a pair of purple eyes knew what just flickered through those irises.  
  
...pain. A kind of hard pain that, whenever rusted, got worse and stronger. Brittle and snapping.  
  
"Answer my question."  
  
He closed his blank eyes. "...I can't go back... They told me they were not there once Janus made that threat. Not only that, I was banished from the town right after I fought the bastard... I was also labeled as a murderer... not the protector I wished I was......"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"I can only hope that they're okay." He visibly slumped into his dazed stupor again. (Damn it... I hate being helpless...)  
  
"Weakling," cut in Jet. "Trying to get pity from us?"  
  
"Shut up, Jet," said Gallows. The large man knew of Jet's behavior, but this was even more cruel than usual! "He don't need that crap to deal with right now!"  
  
"...It's quite all right, Gallows," murmured the boy. "I get that a lot. I'm used to it." Prying open one dark blue eye, one could see a tinge of demon red in the iris had just decided to show up. The red mark encircled his entire pupil, and ended there. When he blinked, it disappeared. "......I take it you're the leader, here, Virginia. So, once you get some leads, where do you think that will take you?"  
  
"What?" she asked, confused. "You don't want to come with?"  
  
"I stated it as I did in case you did not want me to accompany you," came the quiet, slow reply. "...Maybe it would be better if I did *not* go with you. Who'd want me around, anyway? Jet seems to not want me around."  
  
"We would!" piped "leader". "Don't mind Jet. He's a smart-ass."  
  
Jet closed his eyes. "Hmph."  
  
"There is always safety in numbers..." reasoned the bounty-hunter.  
  
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" the Baskarian man asked.  
  
"Nani?[2]"  
  
"Why do you look like a girl?"  
  
"..." He nearly glared at the man. How dare he make such a blunt statement for his almost feminine structure?! It wasn't his fault he looked as he did! Not his fault both men and women alike hit on him! Men thought he was a she, and women knew the truth! "I cannot help the way I was born... Just as I cannot help that I like my hairstyle; the same way I cannot help my current situation. That good enough for ya?"  
  
"Jeez... I didn't mean it like that, y'know..."  
  
"Kh..." He turned his gaze to the brown-haired female. "So, leader, what are we gonna do now? I doubt you wanted to stand around and chit-chat here all day."  
  
She nodded. "You're right. Let's all go to Ka Dingel!"  
  
*************************************  
  
Don't yell; I did this fic a long time ago! R&R! Oh, and can somebody PLEAZE help me title this thing? It's been untitled for a LONG time!  
  
[1] "Kurohi the idiot", or "the idiot Kurohi". I'm not sure which. I'm not fluent in Japanese.  
  
[2] "Nani" Japanese for "What" 


	2. Nighttime Monster & Next Destination

Chapter Two: Nighttime Monster & Next Destination  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! (I just finished the Glimmering Emblem as of 1/5/03. School's tomorrow and most likely I'll hate the first week or so.) I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that! Jet's so kawaii!  
  
"speaking", (thinking), ~(present thoughts in a flashback)~  
  
*************************************  
  
I don't understand. Why would Virginia accept someone such as Kurohi to the group after what happened with Janus? Hmph. Maybe she's all ready gone senile... Wait, she's too young for that. Insane would be a better word.  
  
She seemed back to normal earlier this evening... chit-chatting with the newbie... Would you believe it? About hairstyles and clothes instead of guns! And then he turns around to talk to Gallows about the Guardians!  
  
How weird is that? It gets weirder! Lately, he looks at me, seems to be blushing, and then looks away! I have a strange feeling about this... It's almost as if...  
  
Nah.  
  
I hear soft footsteps treading softly up the stairs. They are submissive and uncertain, as if they are afraid to alert the others. Since no one of the group has footfalls like that, I am guessing it is Kurohi.  
  
Opening my eyes and looking to one side, laying on one side near the edge of my bed, dim blue eyes meet my light amethyst ones. They blink slowly and then close and water slightly as he yawns. His midriff shows as he stretches. I see more of his attire. His belt is a strange one... It's orange with black stripes with a black kind of buckle.  
  
...It's fuzzy-looking. What kind of belt is that? I should ask sometime if I'm still interested. Then again, I have a reputation to maintain. I'm supposed to only be interested in money.  
  
Wait a sec... I'm staring somewhere I shouldn't - a place where usual men dare not gaze. I look away but cannot help but look back at his feminine form even more... The way his slim structure flexes with hidden muscles, it seems. His abdomen seems firm, and not blubbery like others are. He has the body of a gymnast, yet it lacks some of the athletic form.  
  
His skin is paler than mine is. It looks...  
  
(...Stop it, Jet,) I chide to myself. (Now's not the time to think like that. You only met him, and, besides, he's a guy!)  
  
We are sharing the same room, since we are both male. Virginia gets her own room, and Gallows and Clive are one doorway away.  
  
With a tug or two, he yanks off his tattered vest and black shirt, exposing his bare chest to me as he regards me with a distant, pondering look. His eyes have glazed over again, not letting out any secrets. To top it off, his eyes are half-lidded with a lack of emotion and fatigue. He has a dark scar over his chest, as if he was run through with some sort of claw. It sort of looks like a mutilated star, similar to his silver hair half-starburst that sits almost like a crown on his head. It shimmers and glitters like the stars outside in the moonlight that has filtered into our room.  
  
His eyes narrow at my gaze as he computes my stare for an unsaid question. "Oh, that? I can't remember how I got such a wound-turned-to- scar. It was too long ago."  
  
"How long?"  
  
"A few months... I think...?" he asked slowly. "...I cannot remember."  
  
"Months? Hmm..."  
  
His gaze turns almost lethal. He looks at me with almost shock, which is especially apparent in his...... light blue eyes...? I thought he had dark blue ones! Maybe it's my imagination. "...You know something...?!"  
  
I shrug. "No."  
  
His shoulders slump and he curses softly. His eyes dim again; he appears to be thinking about something. After a moment, he sits down on the bed nearest to mine and clasps his hands above the space between his legs. His head is bowed, and after a long while, Kurohi looks up, his face uncertain.  
  
"If I show you something, do you promise not to scream, yell, be disgusted, or run away?" he asks slowly.  
  
What is he getting at? Why would I have to run? I'm not afraid of him! "Yes."  
  
"Promise?" He emphasizes the word gently. I never knew that that was possible. "This is a very delicate matter I am bearing forth to you... and I do not know why. My instincts are usually correct..."  
  
"I promise. Now hurry up so I can sleep."  
  
His belt suddenly unwinds itself from around his tapered waist.  
  
...It's a tail! He's part beast!? He's a demi-human?! A demon?!  
  
I move backward just slightly. He notices it and lays down quietly on the bed, cursing at himself. I overhear him calling himself a stupid bastard of the wasteland, or a nimrod of the ruins of memory, and other things.  
  
I say nothing. Let him do as he pleases.  
  
I hear soft whimpering. Has he scolded himself THAT badly?  
  
...  
  
Looks like tonight will give very little rest to the ones in the same room of a wimpy boy.  
  
...  
  
...  
  
Some time has passed. I know not how long. The whimpering hasn't ceased; it's gotten worse. I stand up and eye the newcomer coldly. His form appears very small while he sleeps. He is curled into a fetal position, a thin stream of tears trickle down his cheeks in unsteady flows. He is mumbling something and shivering as if cold...  
  
"No...... nnn...... again...... whyyy......?" He turned to one side, and continued to mumble. "...Zzzzzz... Sisssterrr...... Sssseiishinnn... NOO...!! ...Ie'll......get you... mmmrrrr...... tkk... ssss... Mmmm...... ..WHAT?!!" He sits up abruptly, shaking badly. He doesn't see me. "I had that *dream* again... That bastard J-Janus... stupid truce..." He hugs his knees, still shivering twice as badly as before. "...I should have stopped him... my fault... Kurohi no baka."  
  
I clear my throat softly, and he seems to take it like I'm someone else. He grabs my middle and pulls me close. His tears soak slowly through my black shirt as I gape for a moment, unable to so or say anything as he hugs my waist fiercely. He smells of cinnamon... and his own scent, soft and vibrant like rain and hail intertwined into one being. His scent is so strange... yet so alluring. I can't comprehend what I am thinking until a moment or so later. I soon stutter, trying to get him to let go with words since my body still doesn't want to obey. He looks up and finally sees me. "A-ah...? Oh..." He slowly pulls back. "G-Gomen nasai, Jet-chan... [1]"  
  
I blinked at him. What in hell was he saying? All I understood was when he said my name, but what was this "chan" business?  
  
"Em... I mean, I'm sorry, Jet," he explains. "I didn't mean..." He pauses, then shakes his head as if in denial. "Never mind... Just ignore me like everyone else does..." he all but weeps. "It's better than being scolded in times of weakness..." He leans into himself, hugging his knees to his pale chest. He still trembles. "...Seishin-chan..." He bows his head until it touches the tops of his knees. "I'm... so... so sorry for not protecting you... ...Forgive me... please..."  
  
"The dead cannot hear you," I reply automatically. He looks back up and glares at me. Red mingles with his blue eyes, but once he blinks it gets even fiercer.  
  
"You think I don't know that?!" He slouches. "I'm sorry, but I just can't face the pain... It's too much of a burden... too much... My fault..."  
  
"And Janus?"  
  
"He caused it!" he cries vehemently. "He finished it! He wins, I lose!" he hisses. "My sibling and parent are going to be slaughtered! I can't do anything about it because now I can't remember where I was banished from so I can return and save them! I can't even recall clearly enough if they left the place or not!!"  
  
"Shut up! You'll wake everyone else!"  
  
He glares at me, and a dark shadow infiltrates the moonlit room. I look out the window, and the moon still shines, but the shadow is inside the room itself! I look at Kurohi. His eyes are burning bright red.  
  
I suddenly don't know what to do. Should I yell for the others?  
  
******  
  
How dare he! How dare he speak truth in such a way?! Wait...! I'm... losing... contr......  
  
The shadow comes forth. I am suddenly fearful. What if I kill him? I certainly won't be able to live anymore... but why? I try to force it back, but strangely, nothing happens...  
  
NOO! Spirit, don't harm him! He was only speaking truth! Truth may hurt but it is still truth! He's being honest!  
  
'Who cares? The careless should be punished!'  
  
If you don't care, then YOU should be punished, demon!  
  
'Good point, but I'm the punisher!'  
  
How about, 'shut up jackass and go back to your sleep'?  
  
'...'  
  
That's what I thought.  
  
He retreated from my mind and, consequently, I slipped unconscious. When I would wake, I had yet to find out.  
  
It sure gets crowded when another soul lives in one body.  
  
******  
  
He knew one thing. He had a pounding headache. He growled softly, and, trying to slide out of bed, ending up falling out on his ass. He growled again, and rose to his feet, using the bed post for support. Kurohi shook his head to clear it and snorted. (Your fault, demon... You know what you can do and you love it...)  
  
'Yeah, you got a problem?!'  
  
(You know I do.)  
  
'Look, your pestering me is getting boring. I'll bet your *friends* are waiting for you.' Kurohi nodded slightly, then made his way downstairs. He heard, "Well, then let's find your memories!"  
  
"I told you, I don't... ugh..." Jet shook his head in submission. How could he beat this nosy girl?!  
  
"Ano... [2]"  
  
Everyone looked up at the brown-haired youth, who was holding one temple with a few fingers.  
  
"Sorry I'm late. I slept in..."  
  
'Rrrrrr...!'  
  
He clutched his temple a little tighter and blinked. Like a feline, he slunk to an empty chair and faced them.  
  
"It seems we have figured out our next destination: The Unclean Mark."  
  
*************************************  
  
[1] "Gomen nasai" is Japanese for "I am very sorry" "-chan" is the suffix used in names that suggest affection from the speaker to the listener.  
  
[2] "Ano" is Japanese for "Um" My guess is that it's slang. 


	3. She's a Bitch, He's a Slimy Bastard and ...

Chapter Three: She's a Bitch, He's a Slimy Bastard & I'm Lusting Someone  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! (I just finished the Glimmering Emblem as of 1/5/03. School's tomorrow and most likely I'll hate the first week or so.) I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that! Jet's so kawaii!  
  
"speaking", (thinking), ~(present thoughts in a flashback)~  
  
*************************************  
  
The entire labyrinth was backed with traps galore. It was dark and dreary and monotonous. The walls appeared the same and the floor crunched softly beneath my feet. I became rather bored, save the times we ran into monsters. I hated being knocked down and unable to use my...... Never mind.  
  
A female named Claudia joined our group, failing to tell all of us in time before we were nearly struck by traps. Especially one little switch that when you pulled it, red beams would shoot at us! I got hit, and fell to the floor with a thud, my second soul seeming to want to escape from my very being.  
  
But, before that, there was a bridge that was collapsing after the girl, Claudia, pressed a switch. In an attempt to make sure the others got past safely, I fell onto a painful pit-like area. Stab after stab of pain shot through me, and I screamed each time until I managed to crawl out of there.  
  
I stayed away from the group after that. No-one helped me out.  
  
Why didn't they? Didn't they see I was injured? It hurt so... so badly to move!  
  
I still did, though. I still marched on, head held high. Is that why they didn't notice?  
  
Now that, was scary and painful... but no one seemed to notice... except for Claudia.  
  
Something's fishy about her... but Gallows likes her, though you can't trust his opinion about pretty girls. The judgment is all the same, ain't it?  
  
***  
  
She seems to be pullin' these traps on us on purpose! Wait... she smells odd... She has two scents... one of human blood... the other...... She also seems familiar with this ruin. She says that "We're almost at the heart of the ruin where the artifact lies..." Claudia notices Clive's expression of skepticism. "Isn't it about time you reveal what's behind the curtain? I don't think I can continue this any longer..."  
  
She seems angered. "How did you see through my veil?"  
  
"I don't have any particular reason. Instinct, I suppose..."  
  
"Instinct!? How absurd! You mean to tell me I was found out by a silly little guess!?"  
  
Then, a second soul, a second being, removed itself from Claudia. "A beauty spawned another beauty!? Talk about doubling your pleasure!"  
  
I wanted to gag.  
  
Clive wasn't thwarted. "A clever disguise, using the missing woman from Little Twister. But you have made one fundamental mistake. You attempted to use beauty as your weapon, but the blade you wielded was too dull."  
  
She is in white robes. Her hair is short and thick. She demands, "So, what is your point!?"  
  
"Your beauty is completely fake," the green-haired one seems to chuckle.  
  
"How rude of you. What would you know about beauty?" she asks.  
  
"A woman's beauty can indeed be associated with strength. And so, you used it as your weapon. However, beauty is not all about physical appearance. A kind and tender heart... Beauty from the inside is what ultimately shines through. You are not as beautiful as you think. I have a wife and daughter. I would be in great trouble if I were infatuated with another woman."  
  
WHAT?! He has a family?!  
  
...  
  
Like I might not have any longer... I may be too late as is...  
  
Ha... how pitiful. But I think the woman's gettin' angry.  
  
"As long as no one is deceived by you outer beauty," the trench-coated sniper continues. "anyone can see right through you. You do not seem accustomed to deceiving others. I take it that you are not inherently evil?"  
  
"Enough of your mockery!"  
  
Yup, she's pissed.  
  
"How dare you resist me! I'll make you pay! I will not forgive you for trampling over my feelings! Or my beauty!!"  
  
She launches several blasts from her being, and my second soul stirs at the smell of my blood, which splatters across my body.  
  
'Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!!'  
  
"Gyyyaaaa!!" I clutch my body in agony. The power of the demons in my heritage awakens. My arms spread wide, and my body mutates into one of the three forms I have. My head throws itself back as I scream; fuzzy ears move up my head, my hair shrivels away. Fur, orange with black stripes, spread along my body. My clothing tears to pieces. My hindquarters become more like blades at the bone. Claws extend from my fingers, and my face now bears a tigerish, wedged muzzle.  
  
I hear myself cry one desperate, "NOOOO...!" and slowly, ever so slowly, my consciousness fades into oblivion. I vaguely feel flesh wounds. I barely hear shouts of surprise and pain. And lastly, I hear my own scream, mutated, weakening and ugly......  
  
Had I been beaten?  
  
By what?  
  
***  
  
How long have I been like this? In such a state of limbo?  
  
...  
  
Can I move...?  
  
Should I even try...?  
  
Should I...?  
  
I begin to rise to my feet and open my eyes away from the darkness. I still feel fur. I haven't de-morphed to human just yet. I hear our leader shout, "You coward! That's so pathetic how you'd hide and shield yourself behind a woman! Now, come back here!"  
  
I felt my body follow our group to another room of its own accord. I am behind Jet, who quickly spares a sideways glance at me, and then continues on his way. I hear, "I appreciate your work ethic, but you try to handle too much at once. That's why things don't work out for you. Right, Princess?"  
  
"Janus Cascade... You're..."  
  
"...still alive? Surely you didn't think I was dead? And you're not looking at a ghost, either. But the thing is..."  
  
As he comes forth, a boulder crashes in front of us.  
  
"Janus!" Leader shouts.  
  
"My time has ended..." He looks all... scaly and green. A fish?! "My body has been eroded by the Dark Spear against my will... So my previous body has been eaten away, but I've now been endowed with the body of a demon. I've done it. I've attained the power that surpasses all! The power to dominate all! And all I have to do is trigger an impulse within my body... Rrrrrrrraaaagh!! Like so!"  
  
I hear growling. It doesn't scare me. It scares the guardians, but not me.  
  
No.  
  
Not me.  
  
My body roars with it, and Janus looks our way. His eyes widen. "Now, maybe I'll stand a chance against you... demon of the dark."  
  
My body snorts in contempt, and attempts to speak. It is a garbled sound, one that the others do not know.  
  
Janus understands my words. I have vowed to kill him.  
  
"It's this sensation again! The mediums are trembling!? It's as if their uncontrollable fear is ready to jump out any second!"  
  
The rather insightful Gallows replies, "They're afraid of Janus... No, they're afraid of what's inside him... or... are they afraid of Kurohi, or what's inside of him, too?"  
  
Said demon laughs. "You all don't know how lucky you are. To be able to witness the power of demons in this day and age... Besides, you're even more lucky to fight side-by-side with a cold-hearted demon. You know him as Kurohi! Black fire!"  
  
They all stare at us. Us as in, myself and the spirit. It becomes nervous. Who dares to gawk at us? Why do they stare at us so?  
  
...  
  
Is it because of what... who... we are?  
  
...  
  
Is it because of why we are what we are?  
  
My mind fades into oblivion. The beast takes full control. Soon after, I feel its grip on my heart weakening, and I am myself once more, cold, battered, bloodied, and naked.  
  
I later feel warmth around me for a while, and then later to my whole body and face. I open my eyes, dim orbs acquiring the light of the fire. It snaps and crackles with the ferocity of a dragon with snowy white scales, and a flame-tipped tail of holy.  
  
...  
  
Where have I seen that dragon before...?  
  
It slowly fades into oblivion, and I cry out to it audibly. Don't go!  
  
You have the answers! I have questions!! Please tell me why...-  
  
"I see you're up, now."  
  
"Uuugh..." I groan, rubbing my head and sitting up slowly, looking at the speaker, Virginia. My tail comes up to hold the blanket in place at least around my waist with its grip of iron. My bare, star-scarred chest is seen by all, and warmed by the fire. "Wha'... happened?" I murmur, shaking my head. "...such a blur... I can't really remember what happened after I transformed..."  
  
"You knew you could all this time? Is it the power you have of the demons?" she asked me.  
  
I sighed. "...Yes."  
  
They all seem alarmed. I look up at them through half-lidded eyes. "...Please... don't do that." I close my eyes, and I see red just beyond my eyelids. A bright crimson, of bloodshed. Why do I see it? Why is there this unruly urge to kill inside me?! It wasn't there before! "I can't stand being looked at like that..." (That stare makes me afraid.) "Besides, my power does not come from the Dark Spear... otherwise, I would no longer be even fractionally human."  
  
"I'm sorry..."  
  
I open one eye at our leader. "When I am looked at like that, I feel even more like the outcast I..." (...have come to call myself...) I shake my head. "...never mind. My emotions are unimportant."  
  
"What are you saying? Your emotions, faults, and abilities, are important!"  
  
I laugh, another bitter sound. "You just say that, Virginia. Everyone just says that. Words mean nothing, and have meant nothing to me for ages. I cannot remember for just how long, because my memory has been tampered with, and I forget things too quickly for me to store them. Hence, I have nearly any memories to call such."  
  
"Hmph. Seems like Virginia now has another person's memories to look up?" Jet said, opening one purple eye at me. With the fire, the eye seemed even more alive and vibrant than ever. I felt myself falling into that stare, and couldn't get out...  
  
Nor did I want to.  
  
I hadn't felt like this toward anyone...  
  
...  
  
But that was because of how I was treated. How I lived...  
  
How I am now.  
  
Being me sucks...  
  
But why do I feel like passing out under his gaze?  
  
So strange...  
  
"What are you starin' at?" he asks almost angrily. I raise an eyebrow at this.  
  
"You. Why, is there a problem?"  
  
He seems taken aback, and he splutters almost nonsense. Virginia decides to change the subject. "But, boy... You sure surprised us when you mentioned your wife and daughter."  
  
"Ahh..." he sighs. "My apologies... I didn't mean to keep it a secret. It's just hard to find the right timing to bring it up..."  
  
After a moment, she replies, "Well... um... What were we talking about, again? Oh yeah, surprises, right?"  
  
Clive seemed to be able to relate. "There is no need to beat around the bush,-"  
  
Hah. I have a hard time getting to the point sometimes, too...  
  
"-Virginia. We were all surprised by what we saw..."  
  
She murmurs, "Yeah, I guess... I... I just find it so hard to believe that someone could transform like that... Is that the true power of the artifact? To change someone into a different being? The power of the past?"  
  
I nodded toward her. "I am also a fragment of this power... demonic power..." I said, my voice vibrating so much I could giggle at the mere sonorous-like feel. "...By blood, as far as I can remember, I have held powers similar to what the Dark Spear can do." I paused, then looked at the palm of my hands. "But... unlike the Dark Spear, I retain some semblance to purity..." My mouth set itself into a firm line. "...not like I really was... I had to grow up really fast. Not much childish simplicity is left in me, even at such an age..."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"...Fifteen. Sixteen in a few days."  
  
"That's really young!"  
  
I shrugged at Gallows' outburst. "Not that I really cared. I may be young but some say I have the knowledge of someone thrice my age... and half my age in level of autonomy. They say I'm very intelligent, but lack greatly in independent opinion or action. Some claim my actions are the reaction of others." I laughed again, despite my nudeness, which was ignored until now. "Oh... um, does anyone have some spare clothing? Mine... um... were shredded by [[Soul Two]] ..."  
  
"Who's Soul Two?"  
  
"The first beast I found within myself..." I answered. "The tiger beast you saw in the ruins that fought on your side. I don't know if he harmed any of you. Were any of you hurt?"  
  
They shook their heads; I sighed in relief. "Good... Thank goodness... Now, does anyone have *any* spare clothing??!"  
  
A few garments were chucked in my face. They smelled highly of Jet's spicy scent.  
  
I was in heaven.  
  
"Oh, how nice of you to give him some, Jet!" piped the brown-haired leader.  
  
The silver-haired boy said nothing.  
  
I flitted out of there, putting on nearly identical articles of clothing to Jet's. I sniffed the clothing again, drowning myself in his scent. It was soo addicting...  
  
...Was this lust?  
  
... ...I'm lusting over another male?  
  
I show myself in his attire. It is slightly baggier than I like, and some of it slides down my shoulders, showing my collarbone.  
  
I feel eyes on me, and look in their direction. My eyes lock with Jet's, and I feel a flicker of desire pass through my eyes. I close my eyes to hide it, and reopen them when I am certain it is gone.  
  
I can't love him... I can't lust him... I can't feel anything for him unless I want him to die... ...  
  
No... no, no, no, no, no...  
  
`What do you mean? Why are you fretting like this?`  
  
Wha...?  
  
"You look good, Kurohi."  
  
"Thank you..." I murmur automatically. My eyes haven't left Jet's even as I sit down next to him. I can't stop staring at him. He's so...  
  
`What happened to you, Kurohi? I can sense everyone you've ever cared about. They're still alive.`  
  
They're... alive?  
  
`Yes. Now, if you don't mind, next time you transform, take off your clothes!`  
  
WHAT?! You can't possibly be serious! They'll see me!  
  
`As if they haven't? I saw them pick up your limp, *nude* form, you know. And the one you're sitting next to, the boy, noticed your, er-hem... *excellent* endowments...`  
  
EEEP! I did NOT need to know that! But... but...  
  
`Hey, it's given you hope, huh?`  
  
...Hai...... Arigatou. [1]  
  
"Hey!"  
  
I blinked and looked the silver-haired lad's way, stuttering uncontrollably, "W-What Jet-chan?"  
  
"'Jet-chan'?" asked Clive.  
  
I blushed bright red. "N-nanda! [2]" I said too quickly. They knew something was up. My cover had been blown up right in my face, and I felt Jet staring at me, purple eyes gleaming in the night sky.  
  
"Um, Kurohi, I'll need to talk to you after this meeting, okay?"  
  
I nodded at our leader. "Yes, ma'am..."  
  
*************************************  
  
R&R! That's all I can say!  
  
[1] "Hai" is Japanese for "Yes", "Arigatou" is Japanese for a polite "Thank you" or "Thanks"  
  
[2] "Nanda" is Japanese for "It's nothing" or "Is that all?" 


	4. Realization & KO

Chapter Four: Realization & K.O.  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that!  
  
"speaking", (thinking), ~(present thoughts in a flashback)~  
  
*************************************  
  
"Something is up between you and Jet, huh?"  
  
The night was clear and crisp. The cold bothered me greatly, but I let nothing show. Why show something unimportant?  
  
I nodded once. "...Yes," I replied, as if agreeing to my own execution. "We've barely even met, and yet I feel a strange pull toward him... I don't understand it very well, as I am foreign to the feeling."  
  
"You don't know what you're feeling? How is this so? I know what I feel quite well, and I trust you."  
  
I laid back on the cold ground, a small shiver travelling up my spine. The twin scarves I had borrowed cushioned my head in a sea of smells that I could only identify as a part of Jet. "I have received word by my [[Third Soul]] that everyone I care about still live, but I don't think for very long... That's why I am trying not to become attached to any of you... but I can't help it..."  
  
"You have another soul in your body?"  
  
I nodded a little, blue eyes reflecting the light of the stars. "Yes. My mind is rather crowded, so sometimes I even question my own identity... Was I anyone else before it? Did I act like I do now, then?" I shook my head. "And, I'm sorry for opening fire back in Serpent's Coils... I didn't want to... I had no other choice... I don't want to kill you... My thoughts were never malicious of you guys... Only Janus," I spat out his name and rubbed mud and grime and filth all over it eagerly.  
  
"So, what do you think about Jet, and what's with all this '-chan' nonsense?"  
  
I sighed. "... '-chan' is a suffix used to show affection from the speaker to the one it is directed to... For instance, Jet-chan; I have at the very least, affectionate feelings for Jet..." I sighed his name with hidden lust. "I probably shouldn't feel like this... After all, I AM a guy..."  
  
"Well, maybe he likes you more than you think," she suggested, settling herself on the cooling ground further. "Besides, love has no bounds."  
  
Sighing, I sat up, and clasped my hands in my lap, contemplating just a little. "...I know, but if he doesn't?"  
  
"Then, if you tell him, he'll know, at least. Who knows? Love takes many different turns. Maybe, just maybe, it'll go into your favor."  
  
"You are not disgusted by my... sexual preferences?"  
  
"No... not really. Kinda cute to see two sexy guys in a relationship."  
  
"N...n-nani...?!" I stuttered. "You... think I'm...?" I pointed to myself, a blush on my face.  
  
She nodded. "Yes. Very. Even with those clothes on."  
  
I had the decency to blush further. "Does Jet-chan seem to think so...?"  
  
"I don't know. He's not a very open person..." I bent forward as my shoulders visibly sagged. "...What do you think I should do, Virginia?" "Give him hints."  
  
"......Unintentionally, I've been giving him some... such as the look in my eyes... I can easily change that..."  
  
"Something more than that. Most boys are so thick-skulled. How about this? I'll talk to Jet about you, and I'll see what I can find."  
  
I hugged her as a brother would a sister, like how I used to do for Seishin. "Arigatou, Virginia...!" I then yawned as I removed myself from her almost petite frame. "I'm going to bed. Oyasuminasai... Oh, I almost forgot... [1]"  
  
"What?"  
  
"And tell him," I mumbled a few words into her ear. "And if he asks, you may say I said that."  
  
She nodded, and I went my way to go to sleep in the nightmarish world my subconscious creates.  
  
******  
  
"Jet, I need to speak with you."  
  
I yawned. "At such a late hour? Shouldn't you be cuddling with Kurohi?"  
  
I had seen the two hugging, and then I had gone back to my sleeping- bag.  
  
"WHAT?!" she yelled, then hushed herself. "I do not love Kurohi. And, speaking of him, that's who I need to talk to you about."  
  
"Why? So you can learn the best ways to fuck him?" I muttered, turning away from her. The liar... "No! Because..." she trails. She seems uncomfortable.  
  
Now, I am curious. Sitting up, I close my eyes to her, and wait for her to finish her sentence.  
  
"...he doesn't like-like girls, which leaves me out of the picture. The one he like-likes, though he barely even knows, is with us right now."  
  
I open my eyes, now large by disbelief. "Gallows...?!"  
  
She slaps me across the cheek. The sharp contact burns my face. I clasp one hand to the injury. "Heck no! He never talks about him! And besides, Gallows only likes women even less a way Kurohi likes this other boy!"  
  
"Tell me, o' gracious leader," I say sarcastically. "who does he like, then, so that I can go to bed?"  
  
Her eyes soften as she looks at me. "He doesn't fully understand what he is feeling right now. He is trapped in a daze unlike what he is used to. The one he likes sits before me, with a cold exterior with a possibly warm interior." She paused. "He told me to say to this one, 'He is my light that helps me through the darkness my soul creates...  
  
"He does not know what I am after, and I am willing to say what that is, if it will give me what I hope to obtain. He behaves like I would not like to be like, myself, but being who he is draws me like moths to flame.  
  
"I hope he understands what he means to me; I hope he will return my feelings. If he does not, of my three souls, one will shatter, and, after a few years, repair itself again, even more feeble than before...  
  
"So, koi, I'll follow you forever, whenever you choose to see me, I'll show myself to you... I'll give myself to you.  
  
"So, choose what you will do about this at your own pace... I'm certain you'll find the answer at some point in time or another.  
  
"This is where I leave you; seek out your answer, and come tell me... I will be waiting... for all eternity."  
  
"And... who said this?"  
  
She looks at me uncertainly. "...Kurohi......"  
  
"WHAT?!" I stood up quickly. I needed air. I ran from the campsite, and bumped into someone. I stumbled back a step or two, but my victim wasn't so lucky. It collapsed to one side before shaking its head and looking up at me with deep blue eyes.  
  
Blue... eyes?  
  
"Watch where you're goin' Kuro..." I trailed. Somehow, I couldn't finish my sentence the moment I saw those eyes.  
  
"No harm done, Jet," he says, rising to his feet and dusting himself off. "I was just out here to think. I couldn't sleep any, so I thought I might as well do something partially constructive..."  
  
"I don't care what you thought. I just needed some air."  
  
He looks at me with a soft expression of gentle innocence. "Whatever for?"  
  
'He is my light that helps me through the darkness my soul creates...'  
  
"None of your business!" I snap.  
  
He smiles albeit a little sadly. "As you insist. I won't prod if you're not comfortable saying why."  
  
'He does not know what I am after, and I am willing to say what that is, if it will give me what I hope to obtain. He behaves like I would not like to be like, myself, but being who he is draws me like moths to flame.'  
  
I was silent. He speaks once more. "But... I'm willing to listen when... if you speak."  
  
'I hope he understands what he means to me; I hope he will return my feelings.'  
  
"Hmph." I stiffen as his warm hand touches my shoulder. I look at him with near disdain; my sight travels upward and meets almost watery blue eyes. Looking away, I force myself not to look at those sad eyes.  
  
'If he does not, of my three souls, one will shatter, and, after a few years, repair itself again, even more feeble than before...'  
  
"I..." he begins, trying desperately to stare into my eyes. "was always taught... that... if you hope... if you wish really, really hard... wishes and beliefs come true... but... I'm having doubts... The only certain thing about the future is uncertainty... and... I'm not sure I want to find out..."  
  
'So, koi, I'll follow you forever, whenever you choose to see me, I'll show myself to you...'  
  
"Then ignore it."  
  
"Closing my eyes to the world won't make it all go away... but sometimes I wish that were possible."  
  
'I'll give myself to you. So, choose what you will do about this at your own pace... I'm certain you'll find the answer at some point in time or another.'  
  
"......"  
  
"So... what do you plan on doing in life?"  
  
'This is where I leave you; seek out your answer, and come tell me...'  
  
"......"  
  
"Well," he murmurs, taking my silence for "I don't know yet". "When you're sure, I'll wait for you answer."  
  
'I will be waiting... for all eternity.'  
  
"...Kurohi?" I finally ask, turning and locking my gaze with his.  
  
"Yes?" he asks slowly. His face is very close to mine, and I can feel his soft, uneven breaths on my neck... gentle and ardent. His eyes gleam with suppressed emotions. A few of them, namely lust, flicker through them quickly.  
  
Feeling very fearful all of a sudden, I shove him away. His head collides into a large rock so hard, the rock cracks. He does not move. His eyes are closed. I slowly step up to him and check his vital signs.  
  
He's still breathing, but raggedly... but he's not bleeding.  
  
That's a good sign, right?  
  
He groans and pries open an eye. It locks with mine and the pupil narrows until it is a mere slit in the overly large iris. "Y...you hurt me..." He sounds devastated, but it is masked a little with indifference. He tries to rise but then clutches his head, letting out a weak cry of pain. "My... head... hurts... owww......" He blinks rapidly; his pupils dilate and contract over and over again.  
  
"Kurohi! Stay awake!"  
  
He laughs. "...Stay awake? Haha... heh heh..." he shakes his head again and winces. "...Hurts..." His eyes narrow slightly. "...Hurts so bad..." Pausing a long moment, he finally mutters, "...I think I'm gon..." His eyes close, and he loses consciousness.  
  
For once, I NEARLY panic. Keyword: nearly.  
  
******  
  
I can't see... There's only the darkness...  
  
But something... Someone... I see an image of...  
  
However, the image seems... male......  
  
A name finds its way to my mind's lips, but it has no sound... no meaning... but a solitary syllable...  
  
...  
  
Silver hair... rounded, purple eyes...  
  
...  
  
"~......been asleep for months......~"  
  
"~...say he'll never wake...~"  
  
"~...can't NOT wake!! ......too tough for that...~"  
  
WHO'S THERE?!  
  
"...U...ugh..."  
  
My throat feels so dry... Hurts to speak...  
  
"~...Waking up?! ...~"  
  
"Kurohi! Wake up!"  
  
"Hey!!"  
  
Slowly, I pry my eyes open. My eyes ache. The light floods them, so overpowering. I have to close them a little before allowing more light inside. There are three people... One female... two males...... I sit up slowly, the covers sliding down my weak form to pool at my waist. I blink once. Twice. A third time. I look slowly from one person to the other. The one from my dreams is not here. Was he simply an illusion...? And why would I dream of a male? Blinking slowly one last time, I ask, "Who are you all? And why are you here?"  
  
And...  
  
Who am I?  
  
*************************************  
  
KT: "Waaaaai! Cliffie! My character forgets his identity! And it's Jet's fault!!"  
  
Jet: "Hey!! She paid me to do it!"  
  
KT: "Nanananah! I have no money!"  
  
Jet: "Then I'll get the gella from your next paycheck!"  
  
KT: "I don't have any gella!"  
  
Jet: "Plan B: Take gella by force! *begins to chase KT around the house with his ARM*"  
  
KT: *runs away* "Waaaaaaaa~!! R&R but please don't hurt me!"  
  
[1] "Oyasuminasai" is Japanese for "Good night" 


	5. Amnesia

Chapter Five: Amnesia  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that!  
  
"speaking", (thinking)  
  
"What do you mean, 'who are we'? Don't you recognize us?"  
  
I slowly shake my head, confusion written plain as day across my face. "I do not know you," I reply almost coldly. "Why are you all here? Where am I?" I ask slowly.  
  
"Clive's house in Humphrey's Peak."  
  
...  
  
I slid slowly out of bed, and immediately stumbled. The female caught me about my chest to keep me from falling. "You shouldn't try to m..."  
  
Untangling myself from her got her to be quiet. "Like hell I shouldn't move..." I look around. "...so, who are you all?"  
  
"I'm Virginia..." says the brown-haired female uneasily. Her bright green eyes made her appear like a trustable person.  
  
"Yo, I'm Gallows." He presses a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I look up at him. He's almost smiling from ear to ear. I wonder why? Wait a second...  
  
"Umm... You all called me... 'Kurohi'... right? Is that my name?" I ask. I then murmur, "You know me..." Almost not a statement; murmured with a leaden throat.  
  
"Gallows, I'm going to get the others and tell them the good news!"  
  
***POV Switch, 3rd person***  
  
(...Who are these people? What do they know?) the amnesiac boy thought softly.  
  
The skins-wardrobed man nods and removes his hand from the narrow shoulder. "Of course we know ya! You traveled with us for a little while... before you were knocked on the head too hard..."  
  
"Ah... amnesia..." he mumbles. Light violet eyes looked at him from behind his mind. The boy desperately wanted to find this person. He shakes his head. (Normal people don't have purple eyes... Most people don't, do they?)  
  
"-but here's the bad news..." He hears the female mutter to two others before leading them in. The first man had green hair with matching eyes that peer behind thin-framed glasses. And the other...  
  
***POV switch, Kurohi***  
  
He has silver hair... rounded, light violet eyes...  
  
A name suddenly pops into my head. It seemed familiar, and yet, not so. I tried it out. "J......Je..." I licked my dry lips. "J-Je...t...?"  
  
The boy blinks, eyes a little wider. "W...What did you say...?"  
  
I blink in return, a frown tugging the corners of my mouth. "...Je..t...?" I ask a hair more confidently. "Your name is... Jet...?" I frown slightly and look at the female who stands next to the green-haired male. "I know these two, too?" I shake my head and hold onto it. My head aches when I try to remember. "...Hard to recall... to remember..."  
  
The girl beams at the violet-eyed boy just as tall as she was. "Jet! I can't believe it! He at least remembers *your* name! This is all ready progress! He couldn't recall any of our names! Poor fellow..."  
  
All the boy could do was gape at me as I look up.. He suddenly frowns and walks out of there. I suddenly feel very weird, and a phrase pops out of my mouth. "M-Ma-Matte, Jet-chan!![1]"  
  
They stared at me, and I frowned back in my own confusion. What had I just said? After a pause, I stumble out of there, still wearing a gray t- shirt and silky black pants. He's staring out a window, and I slowly approach. I cock my head to one side in question. "Jet...?" I liked the way his name rolled off my tongue. It's strange. as if I should remember something about him.  
  
"Hn?" he asked.  
  
I lower my head slightly. "...Will you... help me remember what it is I have forgotten?" I ask softly. The pit in my stomach widened and twisted. I almost felt ill. Fortunately, there was no food in my stomach. "...I feel as if I should remember something... something that only you can remind me of..." I step a little closer and remain where I am. "Somehow, you play a key role... and I don't know why..." Crouching down in front of him, and look into his eyes. The irises... the shades... are the exact same in my dreams... Or were they reality? Perhaps both? "When... I was... asleep... I saw... your eyes..." I mumble uneasily, feeling a blush spread across my cheeks a little. "...At first, I thought they belonged to a female, but... upon a closer inspection..." I felt myself move closer. I was almost only what he could see. "...they weren't. It was a very strange experience for me... I didn't understand some of what was going on... And maybe I don't want to... but..."  
  
He looks at me, at my eyes, blinks once, then looks away. My sharp hearing picks up my own - and his - rapid heartbeats. His are faster than mine. I blink and ask, "...If I'm making you uneasy... I think I should go..." I stand up to leave, and start to move away, when I feel a griping sensation on another limb of mine. His grip presses firmly into it, and the pressure forces me to my hands and knees with a grunt. My head feels almost light, and yet very, very heavy at the sudden pressure. I find that pressure oddly pleasing to my senses, but I know not why. "What the..." I stare at my rear, then at the striped "rope" Jet's holding firmly.  
  
I have a tail...?  
  
Frowning, I mutter jokingly, "No fair..." (Taking advantage of me like that... Ano, this may sound strange, but, do it again?) I strictly censored these thoughts. Sitting up, I ask, "You want something? I doubt you stopped me for nothing."  
  
"...Sit with me?" he asks quietly after some hesitation. I do as he requests, and sit to the left of him. His shoulders are tensed up, to I tentatively rub his left shoulder with my right hand, fingers moving methodically, to ease the tension. Instead, he tenses up even more before looking at me with uncertain eyes and relaxing just a little. They scan my face a moment before they go back to the window.  
  
It's raining. I smell rain... so soft and sharp all at once. I vaguely wondered what it would be like to perhaps... be that rain. Fall to the ground with grace only to rise and fall again another day.  
  
Falling... it's all about falling.  
  
...or is it the act of rising all over again from the fall?  
  
Stretching and flexing itself, my tail sways contently.  
  
From a distance, I feel four sets of eyes, but I don't care who sees what.  
  
*************************************  
  
[1] "Matte" is Japanese for "Wait" 


	6. Not a Dream, But a Memory

Chapter Six: Not a Dream, but a Memory  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that!  
  
"speaking", (thinking), ~(present thoughts in a flashback)~  
  
*************************************  
  
It has been a long while since I woke up from my long slumber. I try so hard to remember... but nothing comes to me. Lately, I have nightmares.... Nightmares of blood and demons... Most of the time, I AM the demons... and the blood everywhere is mine... or the victims I slaughter......  
  
And, each time, I wake up screaming, crying, or panting like I just was running from demons from Hell.  
  
Perhaps I was...  
  
And... each time... Jet is there. He tells me that these are only dreams... they are not real... But a small part of me thinks otherwise. When I dream, I feel my body changing back to my human self...  
  
...am I demon? Or something else?  
  
What am I? Am I a demon, or am I something else?  
  
What...?  
  
It was one of these nights that I woke up weeping. Curled into a fetal position, the tears stream down my face like there's no tomorrow, just like the rain outside, which has slowed to a drizzle.  
  
The dream... repeated itself again... So much blood... so much violence...  
  
...insanity...  
  
I was all a part of it.  
  
"Kurohi? Sh, sh, shh... It's okay..." he hushes me, sitting on the edge of the bed. He envelopes me from behind, and I let his grip stray wherever it wants as he moves my head to rest itself on his clothed chest.  
  
"...I had that nightmare again... So clear and vivid..." I murmur. One of his ungloved hands stray to the side of my face, and I lean into it a little, ever grateful. The gentle warmth spreads across my cheek, through my body and I feel reassured. I don't really understand why. "...and it continuously gets worse..."  
  
"It's okay," he repeats. "It was only a dream..."  
  
I groan, eyes closing for a second before looking down at the ground. "You keep telling me that, but...I don't think it is..."  
  
"But it was... It was only a nightmare," he insists, holding me tighter.  
  
Sighing, I murmur, turning my head into his neck, eyes falling closed slowly, "I hope so... but it's felt even more real each time... it scares me..." I open my eyes. Jet looks back down at me with half-lidded ones.  
  
'He behaves like I would not like to be like, myself, but being who he is draws me like moths to flame... hahaha! What utter rubbish!'  
  
I blink. Who said that?  
  
'This is where I leave you; seek out your answer, and come tell me...'  
  
I grip my head. "...Who speaks there?!"  
  
"Kurohi?"  
  
'...more feeble than before...'  
  
"Make it shut up, Jet! Please...! What's going on?!"  
  
"Hush... I'll make it go away."  
  
...And the voice shut up. Wonder why? "...It's gone...?"  
  
"I threatened it to go," he says with a smirk.  
  
"It mentioned... 'who he is draws me like moths to flame...' I wonder what it's referring to?" I look at my friend, who does not return my stare. He appears lost in thought. "...Jet?"  
  
He shakes his head and looks back down at me. "Nothing. I'm okay."  
  
I nod against his chest, unable to do or say anything else. His heart has sped up a little. as if remembering a painful detail. "Are you sure, though? Can *I* make something go away?"  
  
Zzzzzzzzzttt!  
  
Deep blue eyes stare up at light violet ones. The first set are full of love and lust, the other set of fear. The owner shoves the blue-eyed one across the ground, then all goes black. Light violet eyes stare concernedly down at the figure who has just lost consciousness. The owner is both terrified - had he killed the boy? - and satisfied in a sick way. He had just shoved - and quite violently - away the first person to ever love him...  
  
Well, he hurt, *now*.  
  
Zzzzzzzzzttt!  
  
"...Did that happen...?" I mumble to myself.  
  
"Did what happen?" Jet asks me, looking down at my no longer frightened form. "I saw myself... being pushed into a rock... by... I really don't know who... your eyes gazed at me... and then... nothing at all... Did you...?" (...do it?)  
  
He nods grimly. "I... I did. I wasn't sure of my emotions back then. I had convinced myself I had none."  
  
I sat up in his lap, gripping his forearms gently. "Maybe I can change your mind?" (Please? Just let me...)  
  
In the darkness, I can see his face flush. "K...Kurohi... maybe we should..."  
  
"Wait?" I cock my head to one side. "I don't know the meaning of 'wait'..."  
  
He smirks. "Sure you do. You use it a lot!"  
  
I smirk back. "Not when it's being used against me!" I press my lips against his gently, wanting, needing more.  
  
My head begins to throb, but I force it down. (I must not remember the horrors...! I must keep it hidden! I don't want to know!!)  
  
Jet isn't responding. I open my eyes, and once I do, he leaves. His taste remains on my lips and I hold it there a moment before draining it ever so slowly with my tongue.  
  
"...Jet......" After staring at the empty space before me a moment, I flop back onto the bed and await more nightmares. Sleep does not come for a long time for me, and when it does, the sun has already risen over the horizon... 


	7. Running Love

Chapter Seven: Running Love  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that!  
  
"speaking", (thinking), ~(present thoughts in a flashback)~  
  
*************************************  
  
Wandering through the wasteland, Jet looked for his friend. In his eyes, Kurohi and himself were only friends.  
  
But Kurohi...  
  
He had recovered his memories quite quickly after that kiss...  
  
...after he had fallen comatose for a few more days, the day after he had sat up on the roof with him. The long slumber he had endured was full of nightmares that left him screaming his name with tears down his face, unable to awaken from the horrors that held him so tightly. But the kiss still made his lips tingle from the very memory.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
The sun rose slowly across the horizon, eager to eliminate the traces of the previous rain. A lone figure sits atop the rafters of a home, throwing out his boomerang before catching it each time, paying no mind to his now slightly damp condition. A dark figure moves silently across the roof, spiky hair gone limp by the shower he had taken a few moments ago. It dripped to the tiling, falling like blood a mortal wound, but the splash was not as harsh as blood.  
  
"So, this is where you've been. I was looking for you," he murmurs.  
  
"Hn," replies the white-haired one.  
  
The other male sits next to Jet, and asks softly, "...Can I sit here?"  
  
He shrugs. "Free wasteland, isn't it?"  
  
Kurohi, the soaked one, laughs softly, then is silent for a long moment. He then asks, "...Jet?"  
  
Said boy looks Kurohi's way, but is silent.  
  
"...I understand what I am feeling right now. I am not trapped in a daze like what I was used to. The one I love sits before me, with a cold exterior with a warm interior..." He pauses for breath. "He is my light that helps me through the darkness my soul creates... He knows what I am after, and I am willing to confirm what that is, if it will give me what I hope to obtain. He behaves like I would not like to be like, myself, but being who he is draws me like moths to flame. I hope he understands what he means to me; I hope he will return my feelings. If he does not, of my three souls, one will shatter, and, after a few years, repair itself again, even more feeble than before... So, koi, I'll follow you forever, whenever you choose to see me, I'll show myself to you..." He pauses to whisper huskily, "I'll give myself to you..." After another hesitation, he says, "So, choose what you will do about this at your own pace... I'm certain you'll find the answer at some point in time or another...... This is where I leave you; seek out your answer, and come tell me... I will be waiting... for all eternity."  
  
First thing that came to Jet's mind was, (That sure is a mouthful!) but, instead, he murmurs, "...You remember, don't you?"  
  
Kurohi's answer was a breathy kiss to the other boy's lips before he turned away, about to leave. "Not quite, but I'm remembering..." he murmurs. Jet's gloved hand reached out to him, and grasped the naked appendage that was Kurohi's lower arm. "...? What is it?"  
  
"I'm getting a little cold. Let's go inside..." said the amethyst- eyed boy.  
  
Noting the lust from the other boy, Kurohi giggled almost like the girl his hair sometimes told others that he was said female.  
  
And for once he wouldn't have minded the comment.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
...but a day later...  
  
***Flashback***  
  
"Jet-chan?"  
  
~(Horrible rumors had spread about him... They had gotten to Humphrey's Peak, )~  
  
"Shut up. I don't want to hear about your 'affections' crap!"  
  
"I..." What had he done to receive Jet's cold shoulder? Was he in a bad mood?  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
~(...And I believed them...)~  
  
He pauses behind Jet. "...I don't think I should tell you one last time, then... since you're in such a bad mood..."  
  
"What?!"  
  
Grabbing his new jacket from the rack and putting it on, he grabbed his ARM, strapped it behind his back, and murmured, "Ai shiteiru... demo... sayonara.[1]" With that, he flits out the door.  
  
(He sure has gotten fast...) he thinks for a split second, then Jet yells, "KUROHI...! WAIT!!"  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
The boy had been gone for months after. Jet had wandered and searched on his own, leaving his friends to save the world without him for the time being.  
  
(Kurohi... I'm coming...) He pressed on. There was still time, right? Right?  
  
Why did it hurt him so much? Why does it hurt that Kurohi left?  
  
He went from town to town, asking if any weird happenings were going on lately. He wound up in Little Twister.  
  
Angela pointed out that in the Unclean Mark, there was a strange beast that currently inhabited it. She had heard that it had large, black horns and claws larger than its head. It was a dragon, with how its structure was... a very slim one...... One that hadn't eaten in a long time.  
  
Stranger enough, it had catlike ears behind those slim horns.  
  
"Also," she had added. "It speaks human language. It says before it kills its victims, 'Never come back again. In fact, you won't be able to, because your carcass shall remain here, to remind me of everyone else I've harmed!' It's very weird. At least, that's what I've heard."  
  
Jet nodded. "Thanks."  
  
*************************************  
  
[1] "Ai shiteiru" is Japanese for "I love you", "Demo" is Japanese for "But", "Sayonara" is Japanese for "Good-bye" 


	8. I Love You

Chapter Eight: I Love You  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that!  
  
"speaking"  
  
*************************************  
  
"Come here again and I WILL kill you, human!"  
  
Trembling, the brown-haired, male treasure hunter fled. The shadow, a dark, deep black dragon, sighed tiredly. "...All I did was come here to be alone and die in the monster form I believe myself to be... I can't take Jet's rejection of me much longer..." Its deep, weakening voice echoed in the lonely ruin.  
  
'Why did you leave?'  
  
"...I thought you heard me. We are of the same mind, spirit...... Anyway, I left because he rejected me."  
  
'He did?' It's voice was sarcastically curious. Both annoying AND prying.  
  
Laughing with a dry throat, the deep black dragon lay tiredly on the bloodied ground. "Of course he did... He wanted none of my affections. So, I decided to eliminate the problem...... If I died, he wouldn't have to worry about my worthless affections. It's... better this way..."  
  
"I'm sorry..."  
  
The dragon's cat ear twitched at the sound, but it only registered as the voice of one of the souls in his mind. He was too far into the darkness... Too weak. "Don't be. He doesn't care. He doesn't care that my time is almost over...... The wounds those explorers inflicted on me have taken their toll............"  
  
"Don't die!! Don't you hear me??! KUROHI TATSAKI!!!"  
  
No one used his last name unless he was in trouble by his mom or something...  
  
Was he in trouble?  
  
He rose his almost comically large head and looked down at the small human. "Jet-...san...... [1]"  
  
"Yeah, it's me... I know you're mad at me, aren't you?"  
  
He shook his head and knelt down before Jet. His tail and wings dragging limply behind himself. He felt so weak... "Iya... no, I'm not mad... at you, Jet-san... [2] ...How could I ever be?"  
  
"Enough with the '-san'. '-chan' sounds better."  
  
His ears pricked up a little. "Hai... demo... will it matter in the end? In my end? [5]"  
  
"What do you mean?! You're...?"  
  
What was monster shrunk into human. The ears slid back downward, the tail became fuzzy, striped and light, fingers emerged from talons, and scales peeled back to reveal skin almost as pale as snow, but even that was tainted by patches of blood and gashes across the perfect skin. The frail, unclothed human panted for air. His eyes wanted to drift closed forever, but he needed to hear one phrase from the other boy. Just one, three-word phrase, and he would feel the need, the want, to live on. "J...et...?" He struggled to look up at the spiky, silver-haired boy.  
  
The latter sat down, and, much like a few months ago, let the brown- haired boy rest his also spiky head against his chest. The soft strands, crusted with blood, brushed like a stiff paintbrush against his face.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"...A...i...... shi...te...iru..."  
  
He leaned further against the boy with now equal height. "Yeah, Kurohi... I love you, too... You've said that before."  
  
"......Jet-chan... you mean it?"  
  
He laughed. "Yes, Kurohi. I've been denying it all this time... and now look at what happened to you! You're skin and bones!"  
  
"I haven't eaten since I left you... Haven't drunk anything, either..."  
  
"Here... have some of my water..." Opening a flask, he lifted the lid to his koi's [3] lips, who drank slowly, holding back the urge to guzzle and throw up.  
  
"...Thank you..."  
  
"You've been through tough shit, huh?"  
  
"...I've been to hell and back here... and almost back to a cold hell..."  
  
He embraced the other boy tighter against his chest. "Then... once we get back to the others, I'll show you the reward for going so far... and coming back."  
  
The brown-haired one craned his neck backwards to look up into the purple orbs. He chuckled. "Of course. How can I say no?"  
  
Jet almost purred, "You can't."  
  
Smiling a little, he nuzzled Jet's shoulder. "Why would I want to?"  
  
The spiky, white-haired boy smirked. "Oh, no reason."  
  
"Precisely."  
  
"You want to go back yet?"  
  
"Hell yeah, but I think it would be better... if I had clothes!"  
  
"Shredded my extra pair all ready?"  
  
"No... they got ruined too much to wear because of all the three-on- one and fifteen-on-one and who-knows-on-one fights I've been in."  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"Under some broken tiles in this room...... First pillar... to your left... Even though they were... mangled and dirty, I still kept them..."  
  
"...Why would you want to keep something so ruined?"  
  
"They still hold your scent... It's faint... but......" Kurohi took that time to pass out.  
  
"W-Wha?! K-Kurohi! Wake up!! Don't die, please don't die!! KUROHI!!!"  
  
*************************************  
  
[1] "-san" is a Japanese suffix for "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Mrs." Not formal. [2] "Iya" is Japanese for "No" [3] "Hai" is Japanese for "Yes" [4] "Koi" is Japanese for "Love" [I guess it's short for Lover], or "Koibito" which is Japanese for "Lover", "Boy/Girlfriend" 


	9. Epilogue

Chapter Nine: Epilogue  
  
By Kurohi Tatsaki  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Arms 3, and I haven't beaten the game yet! It's a cool game, though! I wouldn't be writing a fic about it if I didn't think that!  
  
"speaking" (thoughts)  
  
Thanks to all that reviewed! Sorry, but this chapter is SHORT!  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Was I the one to teach Jet to love another? Did my appearance suddenly spark a hidden light inside him? If so, I'm glad, yet remorseful that I did. I caused him too much pain after he thought I died in those ruins. I had remained asleep for a full week later.  
  
...I saw his eyes again, begging me to return to the living world. His face alone would keep me from heaven's door if he were not going there, too.  
  
I'd follow him from hell to heaven and back once more if I had to.  
  
He means that much. What can I say? I'm beyond words.  
  
When I woke, he was the first thing I saw. To this present day, I have abandoned my shell - it now collects dust and rust on the floor... seven years' worth of it. I don't need it anymore. Filgaia is no longer a wasteland. No more need for me to hide myself from anyone anymore.  
  
Sneaking up on him, I tickled his sides, shouting, "TAG! YOU'RE IT!"  
  
I knew the best of places to touch him. He was wiggling and writhing under my skilled fingertips. I tickled his sides, hearing his uncorked laughs.  
  
"No....... fair!" he gasps between giggles.  
  
He wiggles his way around to get me back for my sudden attack. Yeah, I did this on purpose, and not some dare the others give me sometimes.  
  
And Janus...  
  
...was defeated. Let's just say he won't be hurting anyone close to me ever again. The others killed him once and for all!  
  
I got the final shot.  
  
Life was good.  
  
...Sex was better.  
  
I even helped Jet deal with the fact he was a Sample. I don't care about that, though.  
  
I roll my bright blue eyes when he says something obnoxious, yet somehow friendly. Really, I'm the only one he treats like this.  
  
His gaze has turned a little strange. He staring at my irises like a hawk.  
  
"What?" I tease naughtily. "You see something you like?"  
  
"You're eyes are... light blue. True color?"  
  
I kiss him. "Ladies, gentlemen and Drifters alike, give this guy one- hundred points for being so observant!!" I say proudly. "This could never be unless you came around and helped take care of Janus!"  
  
Drifters still exist, though for other purposes. They're mostly mercenaries.  
  
"Oh? What does this mean, then?"  
  
I smile. "I think you should know by now. I'm truly as happy as I can get."  
  
"Really? Then we should stop the 'sessions'?"  
  
My eyes bulge. "I didn't say that! I like what you do to me..." I purr, gripping one of his side-spikes. I brush my lips over his own and pull back slightly.  
  
Wild night tonight, no doubt.  
  
******  
  
"Wakey-wakey, Jet-chan!" He heard.  
  
"Mmm... go 'way." Jet rolled over in the covers, which were promptly yanked from his agile form.  
  
"Up! Up!"  
  
"Go 'way, Kurohi..." (He sounds like an infernal two-year-old...)  
  
"C'mon up, Jet-chan! The reunion's today! Let's GO!"  
  
His light violet eyes slid open cat-likely. "Fine, fine... you won't let me off the hook until I do... okay, let's go."  
  
****************************** Sorry this is so short! Once I get back into the flow, I'll remake this chapter's length!  
  
Want a continuation? Yes/No in your reviews! Oh, and, Millennium Shield? Your votes don't count cuz you're my brother! You can just tell me up front!  
  
MS: *sigh* Whatever.  
  
Yeah, he's my *younger* brother. By the way, his fics are okay. Haven't read a single one, but a Yu-Gi-Oh! fic we did lasted nearly thirty chapters and then I got bored of it because there was NO PLOT! I might post it as one of mine, because some of it's good stuff... considering we wrote it last year. 


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